The Washlava-branded laundromat in Tampa’s Carrollwood neighborhood is now completely coin and cashless, with the store’s Huebsch equipment being controlled through the Washlava mobile application.

For more than sixty years, quarters have been synonymous with the $6 billion laundry industry, and more than 80 percent of the 26,000 laundromat locations in the United States are still coin operated. But with the average laundromat household spending nearly $50 dollars a month on laundry, that translates to 200 quarters each month.

“By eliminating quarters and cash, we can provide customers with a safer, faster, more convenient laundry experience,” says Todd Belveal, serial entrepreneur and Washlava owner, founder and CEO. “And from an operational perspective, the platform is significantly cheaper than other laundry payment systems, allows us to remotely manage and monitor our equipment fleet, and engage with and market to customers directly – all features that are impossible to do with a coin or card operated location.”

In addition to enabling mobile payments, the technology allows customers to find Washlava locations, see machine availability, reserve machines, and receive push notification when their laundry is finished.

The technology has been operating at the University of Florida since Fall 2016, and the results have been compelling, with students preferring the Washlava app 12 to 1 over quarters and 7 to 1 over credit cards.

Spending time at the Tampa location, one can often hear customers exclaim how fast and easy the technology is to use. “I’m having a little too much fun with this,” says one mom.

The Tampa-based team of five is partnering with other laundromat owners to roll the technology out to other locations and is working with laundry equipment providers to install it in multi-housing environments like college dorms and apartments.

In coming months, the technology will launch at a laundromat in New York, with Austin, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami locations to follow.

“Our technology enables a better, modern and more convenient experience for customers, and more efficient, profitable locations for laundry owners,” says Belveal.

The Washlava platform is now available on LG Giant, Huebsch and SpeedQueen Quantum commercial laundry equipment, with additional makes and models coming soon.

About WashlavaWashlava is the laundry experience that lets customers reserve and pay for machines from their smartphones. Washlava intends to transform the self-service laundry industry through its patent-pending, smartphone-enabled technology platform and digital brand by creating a connected, convenient laundry experience for businesses and their customers. The company was founded by Todd Belveal, who previously co-founded the Austin-based, mobile-enabled car rental company, Silvercar (now owned by Audi).